Protective casing portable handheld electronic device

ABSTRACT

The protective casing for portable handheld electronic devices comprises an inner casing snugly covering a back and edges of the electronic device, and an outer frame placed around the edges of the electronic device for tightly pressing part of the inner casing against the edges of the electronic device. The resultant protective casing is of improved protective characteristics, durability, convenience of use, and functionalities without compromising aesthetics.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a protective casing forportable handheld electronic devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

To protect portable handheld electronic devices, such as the AppleiPhone, personal digital assistant (PDA), digital media players, digitalrecorders, potable TV, handheld computers, etc., protective casings havebeen proposed. Such protective casings may protect the electronicdevices from physical abuse or risks of damages. However, theconventional protective casings increase significant overall bulk andweight, and could deteriorate or damage the delicate finish of theelectronic devices. The existing protective casings also do not balancebetween the protection, functionalities and aesthetics. For example,there exists an all-silicon soft casing that wraps the entire devicehousing except the screen. However, such casing is not aestheticallyappealing. Aesthetically appealing casings typically offer lessprotection. Further, modern handheld devices require user interactionswith the devices via various interfaces (e.g., screens, buttons,sockets, etc.), the access to which could be hindered by the structureof the existing protective casings.

Therefore, it is desirable to have a protective casing with improvedprotection characteristics, durability, convenience of use, andfunctionalities without compromising aesthetics.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention mainlyaims to provide a protective casing for portable handheld devices withimproved protective characteristics, durability, convenience of use, andfunctionalities without compromising aesthetics.

The protective casing in accordance with the present invention comprisesan inner casing snugly covering a back and edges of the electronicdevice, and an outer frame placed around the edges of the electronicdevice for tightly pressing part of the inner casing against the edgesof the electronic device.

In an embodiment, the inner casing may comprise a substrate and anendless sidewall extending upwards from the substrate in which theheight of the sidewall is the same as or slightly larger than thethickness of the electronic device, while the outer frame may be shapedand structured as a ring in which the height of the outer frame is thesame as or slightly larger than the thickness of the electronic device.

Preferably, upper and lower edges of the outer frame may slightly extendinward towards an inner of the outer frame comparing to a middle part ofthe outer frame, and a flange may formed around the endless sidewall ofthe inner casing at a lower side of the latter. In addition, a crocodileskin-like texture may be formed on an outer surface of the substrate ofthe inner casing.

Furthermore, the inner casing and the outer frame may be provided withmatching openings for external access to buttons, switches and ports onthe electronic device, and the protective casing may further comprise aplurality of plugs for inserting into the matching openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a protective casing for portablehandheld electronic devices according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the protective casing shown inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the protective casing shown in FIG. 1together with a plug.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of theinvention, which is illustrated in the accompanying figures.

The protective casing of the present invention may be sized andstructured to protect a portable handheld electronic device, typicallywith a display screen (e.g., liquid crystal display), for example:personal digital assistant (PDA) and handheld computers; digital mediadevices, such as an MP3 player, digital recorder, portable TV, radio,etc.; wireless devices, such as a cellular phone (e.g., Apple iPhone),two-way radio, etc.; handheld devices, such as global positioning system(GPS), etc.; gaming devices, such as portable versions of computergaming (Nintendo, Sony PlayStation), etc.; digital photo and videocameras, etc.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an embodiment of the protective casingaccording to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the protectivecasing 1 of the present invention may comprise an inner casing 11wrapping a back and sides of an electronic device 2 and outer frame 12pressing part of the inner casing 11 against the sides of the electronicdevice 2. In the embodiment, the electronic device 2 is in the form ofan Apple iPhone. However, as mentioned above, the protective casingcould be sized and structured to protect any suitable portable handheldelectronic devices.

The inner casing 11 may comprise a substrate 13 and an endless sidewall14 extending upwards from the substrate 13, in which the height of thesidewall 14 is the same as or slightly larger than the thickness of theelectronic device 2. Thus, the inner casing 11 could snugly cover theentire back panel and the sides of the electronic device 2, but leaves afront panel, i.e. the screen of the electronic device open for viewing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer frame 12 is shaped and structured like aring, and the height thereof is the same as or slightly larger than thethickness of the electronic device 2. When placed around the sides ofthe electronic device 2, the outer frame 12 could press the endlesssidewall 14 of the inner casing 11 tightly against the sides of theelectronic device 2, just like a clip to hold the inner casing 11 ontothe electronic device 2 securely. As it could act as a shield to protectall vulnerable points of the electronic devices, the combination of theinner casing 11 and the outer frame 12 may provide sufficient protectionto the electronic device 2. Furthermore, the outer frame 12 may worktogether with the inner casing 11 to provide shock absorption to theelectronic device 2 upon impact.

Preferably, comparing to a middle part 16 of the ring, upper and loweredges 17 of the outer frame 12 may slightly extend inward towards aninner of the outer frame 12. With such configuration, the pressure ofthe outer frame 12 on the endless sidewall 14 of the inner casing 11could be much higher, and the inner casing 11 could thus be pressedagainst the electronic device 2 more securely.

Preferably, a flange 15 may be formed around the endless sidewall 14 ofthe inner casing 11 at a lower side of the latter. When pressing ontothe sidewall 14 of the inner casing 11, the outer frame 12 couldtherefore rest on the flange 15 to avoid slipping off from the innercasing 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the inner casing 11 and the outer frame 16could be provided with matching openings 18 for external access tobuttons, switches and ports on the electronic device 2, for instance,headphone jack, charging port, docking port, on/off switch, scrollbutton, opening for camera, etc.

In addition, an adhesive static membrane could be attached to the frontscreen of the electronic device 2 to protect the screen of the device.Any suitable membranes available in the market could be used, and thedetails of which are omitted here.

The inner casing 11 may be made of a semi-soft polymer, such as silicon,soft rubber or the like flexible, soft and pliant material, for example,Engage 8200 Polyolefin Elastomer, available from DOW Plastics. The outerframe 12 may be made of polycarbonate (e.g., available under commoncommercial name of LEXAN®), or other material that is hard and stiff butprovides some flexibility for slight bending to clip the inner casing 11onto the electronic device 2.

The inner casing 11 and/or the outer frame 12 may be available indifferent colors, textures, finishes, materials, etc. As an exampleshown in FIG. 2, a crocodile skin-like texture may be formed on an outersurface 19 of the substrate 13 of the inner casing 11 for offeringadditional grip when holding the electronic device 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the protective casing 1 could be further providedwith a plurality of plugs 3. The plugs 3 could be inserted into thematching openings 18 formed on the inner casing 11 and outer frame 12,to further protect the buttons, switches and ports on the electronicdevice 2 from physical abuse or damages.

Although the description of the present invention is made with referenceto the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited tothese embodiments. Various modifications and changes can be made to theinvention by those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scopes of the present invention.

1. A protective casing for a portable handheld electronic device,comprising: an inner casing snugly covering a back and edges of theelectronic device; an outer frame placed around the edges of theelectronic device for tightly pressing part of the inner casing againstthe edges of the electronic device.
 2. The protective casing accordingto claim 1, wherein the inner casing comprises a substrate and anendless sidewall extending upwards from the substrate in which theheight of the sidewall is the same as or slightly larger than thethickness of the electronic device, while the outer frame is shaped andstructured as a ring in which the height of the outer frame is the sameas or slightly larger than the thickness of the electronic device. 3.The protective casing according to claim 2, wherein upper and loweredges of the outer frame slightly extend inward towards an inner of theouter frame comparing to a middle part of the outer frame.
 4. Theprotective casing according to claim 3, wherein a flange is formedaround the endless sidewall of the inner casing at a lower side of thelatter.
 5. The protective casing according to claim 2, wherein a flangeis formed around the endless sidewall of the inner casing at a lowerside of the latter.
 6. The protective casing according to claim 2,wherein a crocodile skin-like texture is formed on an outer surface ofthe substrate of the inner casing.
 7. The protective casing according toclaim 1, wherein the inner casing and the outer frame are provided withmatching openings for external access to buttons, switches and ports onthe electronic device.
 8. The protective casing according to claim 7,further comprising a plurality of plugs for inserting into the matchingopenings.
 9. The protective casing according to claim 2, wherein theinner casing and the outer frame are provided with matching openings forexternal access to buttons, switches and ports on the electronic device.10. The protective casing according to claim 9, further comprising aplurality of plugs for inserting into the matching openings.